NSAC's Blog

Take Action on the Farm Bill

With this much at stake, we wanted to make sure you saw the call to action last week.

Only once every 5 years do you have the opportunity to truly transform our food and farm system through the federal farm bill.

Last week the Agriculture Committee leadership proposed to rewrite the food and farm bill in 2 weeks – yes you heard that right, 2 weeks – this is usually a year plus process and they want to do it in 2 weeks behind closed doors?! This would be the fastest food and farm bill decision-making process in history – 8 days from today – and will be decided without your input unless you act now.

Please act today for a chance you have only once every 5 years to reform our food and farming system and protect our natural resources.

If you care about the health of America’s soil, water, and land; promoting organic practices and conservation; helping a new generation of struggling small and mid-sized farmers get their start; rebuilding local and regional food systems; or developing new markets and healthy food access – now is the time to speak up. If you want to see a healthier, more secure, environmentally sustainable, and prosperous America – now is the time to speak up.

This proposal* would wipe out over 40 percent of the funding increases for conservation and environmental initiatives achieved in the 2002 and 2008 food and farm bills, setting the clock back and “un-greening” the farm bill. Moreover, it is unclear what the proposal would do to the fair and healthy farm and food system programs won in 2008 with your help, but in need of being renewed in the new farm bill. It could potentially wipe out all of those gains as well.

It just takes a minute to call:
• First check if your Senator and/or Representative sits on the Senate Agriculture or House Agriculture Committee.
• If they DON’T SIT on these committees – you can still take action, but click here instead.
• If your Senator or Representative sits on either of these three committees: call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senators’ and Member of Congress’s office: 202-224-3121. Or go to Congress.org and type in your zip code, then click on your Senators and Member of Congress’s name and the contact tab for their phone number.
• If the line is busy, please leave a brief message on the voicemail.

The Message IF your representative sits on the Agriculture Committee : I am a constituent, calling Senator/Representative _____ to deliver this message (use one or more of these talking points):

• The proposed farm conservation cuts are too big and should be reduced. In particular, the Conservation Stewardship Program funding should be retained and Wetlands Reserve Program funding should be restored.
• Farm commodity program reform should include caps on the amount of subsidy any one farm can receive. Loopholes allowing multiple subsidy payments to single farms should be closed. Conservation requirements should be attached to all forms of revenue and crop insurance subsidies.
• The farm bill must reinvest at least $1 billion a year in innovative, job-creating programs for rural economic development, local and regional food systems, renewable energy, organic farming, and young and beginning farmers.

Thank you for taking action!

*According to published accounts, the leaders of the Agriculture Committees are proposing cuts of $6.5 billion to conservation programs, $5 billion to nutrition programs, and $15 billion to commodity subsidy programs. The conservation cuts would be on top of the $2 billion already made by Congress in the appropriations process.

9 Responses to “Take Action on the Farm Bill”

[…] Last week the Agriculture Committee leadership proposed to rewrite the food and farm bill in 2 weeks – yes you heard that right, 2 weeks – this is usually a year plus process and they want to do it in 2 weeks behind closed doors?! This would be the fastest food and farm bill decision-making process in history – 8 days from today – and will be decided without your input unless you act now. Read more… […]

I do truly believe the farm bill should be put together with the input of farmers and especially small farmers. However, I am really against the continuing of farm subsidies for large farms that have over $250,000 dollars in gross income per year. Any subsidies, if any are allowed to remain in the bill at all, should go to small local farms who really need the help and not large corporate farms who do not need it (or at least should not need the help).

Please keep in mind that there is at least one farmer out here who would rather see no subsidies at all rather then any monies at all going to large corporate farms. Thank you.

[…] National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has set up a very nice form on the Take Action portion of their website that makes it very easy for you to have a voice in the political process, and our voices will only […]

Let this farm bill be one that supports farmers in taking care of the earth so it can continue taking care of us. Support organic, sustainable agriculture. Stop subsidizing GMO crops that destroy our ecosystems and require ever higher levels of toxic pesticides to be sprayed, causing more farm workers and local communities cancer rates to soar. Do the right thing for the planet and those of us who would like to have future generations who can still live on it. Thank you.

[…] PCC Farmland Trust is one among many local food and farm organizations that have signed on to a letter to Senator Patty Murray regarding the 2012 Farm Bill. The letter urges Senator Murray to take a leadership role in modifying the farm bill proposal that is currently being very aggressively rushed through the House and Senate in record time. (Learn more about that here.) […]